It was a late January winter day in Tübingen, with the sun shining brightly, illuminating the front corner of the modern classroom by the teacher’s desk. Professor Dr. Martin B. Hausen was giving his usual lecture, now focused on the upcoming end-of-February topic exam. He looked to be in his early forties, in excellent shape, clearly taking care of his health. He exercised regularly and tried to follow a sugar-free diet. Though already an emeritus professor, he frequently gave lectures at renowned universities and had even been invited to appear on television a few times as an expert. Today, however, he seemed more absent-minded than usual, Anita noted to herself. Perhaps, in his thoughts, he was already at the ski resort where he and his wife planned to spend their usual winter holiday starting next week.

He had assigned three chapters for the topic exam, all on Byzantine history. This was Anita’s least favorite subject. Her chosen area was the life and administration of the medieval Italian provinces, alongside classical archaeology. She was writing her thesis on this, and most of it was already done. Of course, she still had to be familiar with the Byzantine part—there was no escaping it. The many oddly named emperors and generals who often attacked each other, their campaigns stretching in all directions—none of these stories appealed to her. But if she had to learn them, then so be it.

She had lunch at the nearby cafeteria with her friend Betti, who had been her roommate in the dorm for three years. Betti was a tall, blonde basketball player, studying classical archaeology. They had gone on a few trips together. Why wasn’t Anita living in the dorm this year? Primarily because the dormitory residence criteria had become stricter. There were so many applicants now that they could afford to be selective. As a result, prices had also gone up, and a dorm room was now almost as expensive as a mid-range rental. So why not rent an apartment instead? After all, it gave her much more freedom. No need to comply with so many house rules—no one telling her when to come and go.

After her afternoon classes, she headed home right away—she f